1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of making milk chocolate, more especially by the "crumb" process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The crumb is a product unique to the chocolate industry which is obtained by drying a mixture of concentrated milk, sugar and cocoa liquor under reduced pressure. The product thus obtained is then stored for periods ranging from a few weeks to a few months, after which it is enriched in fats, such as cocoa butter, and converted into milk chocolate by well known technological operations. This "crumb" process is used for making milk chocolate of superior quality and with better keeping properties. The object of storage is to allow cystallisation of the sugar present in amorphous form in the freshly prepared crumb. In the absence of storage, the sugar would crystallise prematurely during processing of the crumb into milk chocolate. In practice, therefore, any conventional crumb process presupposes the availability of considerable storage facilities which add correspondingly to the production costs. Storage may be replaced by a treatment for 1 hour at 60.degree. C/60% relative humidity, but this is only a makeshift solution which is equally expensive.